The historic center of Münster (totally destroyed during the Second World War and beautifully restored) is organized in part around the place where is located the church St.-Paulus-Dom (Domplatz). Here are some photos taken between the churches Überwasserkirch and Lambertikirche (this city is filled with churches :) )

Initially I wanted this man to be in the middle of my picture, coming down the stairs … but the time to start the camera of my old iPhone4, he had almost disappeared … in the movement, I still took the photo … finally, I like it :)

Small busy week that nonetheless allowed me to take some pictures during a rapid visit to the beautiful city of Loches (Touraine/France), an old stronghold that became a royal residence under Saint Louis … Joan of Arc came there to meet Charles VII in order to convince him to be crowned.

On the bridge of Bir Hakeim, we dance, we dance … uh no! This is not the right bridge !! (The right one is in Avignon … it a song for kid in French).

As I said to Danièle, Sophie and Vivien who I had the pleasure to meet (again) last weekend near by this beautiful bridge … I’m completely neglecting my blog lately (and all those I am following too) …

So here are finally some recent pictures … I hope I’ll take some more soon …

After the chocolate factory, here is the city that was built to house some of the more than 2000 workers working in the factory. These small twin pavilions of 64 m2 each (several hundred of them) have a garden, 2 bedrooms, a living room and a fully tiled kitchen (for hygiene). There was no running water but numerous fountains in the streets and houses still had all-to sewers (the slope facilitating the evacuation) with recycling for application in the fields of the farm (owned by the Menier family to feed the worker). The pavilions were disposed such that there is no vis-a-vis with those opposite to preserve the privacy of the residents. Residents who had the right to become owners of their homes. The city also included in its center bathhouses, shops, medical office, pharmacy, bars / hotels, a canteen, a school (mandatory for children before it was imposed by the French government to the whole country), a nursing home (which was turned into a hospital during the First World War) and of course a town hall (a little museum now) … Ah! Yes! I almost forgotten the church that is located on the outskirts of the city (Mr Menier was not a firm believer;)) … and then, thanks to the hydroelectric mill, it was one of the few cities to have electricity and the ball that were held there attracted a large crowd coming from surrounding villages that had not much light.

By the way, the statue is a gift from the workers (if I remember correctly), the founder was no longer of this world when it was placed in the square of the city.

The chocolate factory was founded in 1825 in Noisiel by Jean Antoine Brutus Menier (whose adventures in chocolate industry have started in the Marais, Paris, 1816). This founder has built what could be called an ideal factory at the time. for this he has destroyed a small village (population was relocated), built a new one (next post) supplied with electricity (very rare at that time), thanks to the old mill that was transformed into an hydroelectric plant. I’ll speak more about the city next time but in the meantime, here are the pictures of the factory that became the headquarters of Nestlé France since 1996 (after having been purchased by other companies after the family business went bankrupt following the last war and many social tension … despite the fact that the original model was very avant garde and very beneficial to the workers compared to the working life of the time … but it did not resist to the crisis).

While in Basel, after work and before going to fill my empty stomach, attracted by the music of the drums, I went for a walk in the streets of Basel covered confetti … it’s the Basel carnival or Fasnacht.

Flickr Photos

Copyright

Download, use, copy, modify and publish one of my photographs without my consent is an act of piracy. This is a crime but do not hesitate to ask for permission ... Similarly, if you happen to appear on one of my photos, please feel free to let me know and I will immediately remove. Mathias Lucas